The man in charge of a league that has lurched from controversy to controversy in recent years — from anthem protests to the concussion saga — wants a hefty raise, and then some.

Goodell, who has been the NFL commissioner since 2006, is currently negotiating a new extension with the league’s compensation committee which includes the owners of six teams.

ESPN reports Goodell has submitted an offer for $65 million (AUD) per year, plus lifetime use of a private jet and lifetime health insurance for his family, citing a source familiar with the negotiations.

Roger Goodell's contract demands are the most offensive thing I've ever read re NFL. Players only have health insurance for 5 years. He wants it for life -- for his whole family.

While the NFL’s executive vice president of communications Joe Lockhart denied the exact figure, the ESPN source said Goodell is standing firm on his demands. Goodell right now makes about $39 million per year and has made more than $260 million in his career as commissioner during a period when the value of the league’s teams has skyrocketed into the billions.

NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart strongly denies Roger Goodell's only written contract demands in August were for $50 million, plus the perks. Original ESPN source is adamant it is true but clarifies that the amount in writing was $49.5 million, just shy of $50 million.

The alleged details were leaked one day before the committee will hold a conference call to try to finalise the extension, which Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been adamantly against, to the tune of threatening the NFL with litigation.

Jones said on his radio show he wants all 32 owners to have a chance to approve the deal being negotiated between Goodell and the compensation committee. Jones is not on the committee.

The NFL has said owners already voted unanimously to extend Goodell’s contract and authorise the committee to work out the deal. Jones said circumstances have changed since that May vote, including the escalation of the protests over social injustice that have involved the national anthem. Jones also said “behavioural policies” have been an issue since May.

Goodell and Jerry Jones. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)Source:AP

Jones, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August, didn’t dispute that he had threatened to sue the NFL if Goodell’s contract was extended.

He suggested he was at odds with the compensation committee chairman, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank. Jones said he disagrees with Blank’s assertion that the compensation committee can complete the deal without another vote of all owners.

Roger Goodell is a disgrace. He is the antithesis of a leader, an arrogant buffoon w/zero empathy for what matters most: THE PLAYERS.

The 75-year-old Jones said the compensation committee could appease him by agreeing to let the remaining owners review and approve the final contract with Goodell.

“I think just since the period of time that we first addressed extending Roger, I think we’ve had several material adverse conditions happen,” Jones said. “We should basically honour those conditions, such things as the anthem, such things as behavioural policies.

“It’s a well-known, an accepted principle that in a negotiation if you have material consequences occur, that you revisit the situation. Certainly we’ve got things that we need to discuss that weren’t on the table last spring.”

The anthem issue flared after President Donald Trump criticised kneeling players, and again when Jones declared he would bench any player he felt was disrespecting the flag. The NFL hasn’t changed a guideline that encourages but does not require players to stand during the anthem.

“This is simply about making sure that all clubs have input into not only what the commissioner, his extension, but also in future years, his decisions,” Jones said. “We’ve given him a lot of power. I think we need the checks and balances of ownership having to actually be in a position to not just suggest but approve of his decisions.”